Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi plans to visit, mostly in person but also virtually, eight
nations namely the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New
Guinea, and East Timor. With the Solomon Islands he will sign an already negotiated security
agreement. Wang Yi’s 10 day-itinerary represents a first of this dimension and length by a
high-profile Chinese minister. Wang Yi expects to sign wide-ranging, region-wide pacts
covering everything from security, policing, trade, and data. In Fiji, Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi Wang will meet the Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers of ten nations, including
Cook Islands and Niue via video, and chair the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign
Ministers' Meeting. However, Wang Yi's effort to get the Pacific Island countries to sign a
region-wide trade and security deal with China failed. Fijian Prime Minister Frank
Bainimarama said Pacific nations were united in their approach after the decision was
announced on May 30 afternoon.
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